Tag Archives: isolation

Moves to tackle isolation of carers extended

A BID to banish isolation among unpaid carers and help them overcome the day-to-day pressures of looking after a loved one is to be extended in North Yorkshire.

 

Published on the 18 February
2014
00:00

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The decision to extend the project across the whole of Harrogate and Ripon follows a six-month pilot project which supported more than 140 carers-in-need across south Harrogate – resulting in half getting help for the very first time – and follows a Yorkshire Post campaign to highlight the shocking scale of loneliness in the region.

The programme of support – run by charity the Carers’ Resource in partnership with the local NHS and North Yorkshire County Council – is to be funded until March next year and expanded into north Harrogate as well as Ripon and rural areas.

The Carers’ Resource said the success of the project had created a strong platform to reach out to more people in the district’s growing community of carers at a time when Government cutbacks were causing unprecedented hardship for them.

Barry Cryer backs The Big Issue’s Caring at Christmas campaign

The veteran funnyman says that we should reach out to those on their own this Christmas

  Barry Cryer
Comedy titan and top chap Barry Cryer insists he’s enjoying being an oldie at Yuletide, but like The Big Issue’s Caring at Christmas campaign, he says we should spare a thought for those who are less lucky.

“Well I’m lucky, I’ve got a big plan,” the 78-year-old said. “The Big Issue knows about this – loneliness is the most awful thing. And I was spared, been dogged by good luck all my life. We’ve got four children and seven grandchildren, so it’s a big family.

“With the extended family – the in-laws and the outlaws – we’ve got huge group photographs. Very lucky. We’re going to be moving about quite a lot at Christmas. It’s a family thing and I’m so grateful for it.

“The build-up to Christmas gets to me a bit: the frenzy, the rushing about, people going, ‘Oh, I haven’t bought that present and blah blah blah.’ You can feel it in the air, you can smell it.

“I retreat a bit, back from the frenzy. But once it’s arrived I love it. It starts so early commercially, it seems they’re all cashing in very early on. But once it arrives and you pull up the drawbridge… if you’re lucky, as I am, to have a family and a whole gang… I love every minute of it.”

How the internet and digital technology can combat isolation

There is no need for family carers to feel alone!

Posted on 24/11/2012 by |

In a week that Jeremy Hunt announced a new initiative to combat the isolation and loneliness experienced by millions of people it does seem extraordinary that so few local authorities and Health and Wellbeing Boards are  exploring how digital technology can connect people and communities. With an increasing number of web and mobile based applications from simple information to more complex care management tools digital technology has the potential to transform the delivery of care and support in communities. It is fair to comment that access to high speed broadband will be an essential element to realising the full potential of digital technology for providing.

An impressive amount of research has been undertaken and reports produced to explore the challenges, barriers and opportunities of encouraging older people to use the internet and digital technology to live more independent and fulfilling lives.  The internet and digital technology has a very valuable role to play in providing access to services and support to those who have difficulty accessing them in the offline world.